12-day trip to Oman: Muscat, Sur, Nizwa

Below is a write-up of my 12-day trip to Oman with my wife. I'll start with a summary and some essentials and then proceed on to our trip itinerary.

Summary

12 days，7 hotels ，6 destinations, clear open roads and a good mix of land, sea, sun, mountains and deserts in the north of Oman. A highly recommended trip for the adventurous and nature lovers. Pictures of our trip here, here, here and here.

Essentials

1. Rent a car for the duration of your trip. The best way to get around is by car and finding parking in Oman is never a problem. A four wheel drive vehicle is a must if you're going to head for the mountains or the desert.
2. Have a cooler bag in your car to keep your snacks and drinks cool because it gets very hot in the car.
3. Keep your sunglasses and sun lotion with you at all times.
4. Purchase a mobile data plan on arrival at the airport.
5. Download at least two offline mapping apps on your mobile device. We found no one app was good enough to rely on entirely. The two we tended to use the most were Google Maps and MAPS.ME.

Itinerary

Day 1 (Thursday 5 April)

Arrived in Muscat from London Heathrow flying via Munich. (We booked with Lufthansa Air for £440 per person.) We bought a couple of Omantel Hayyak 2GB mobile data packages for 7 OMR each on arrival, set them up and then picked up our SUV (Hyundai Tucson) from the Europcar/Interrent desk at the airport. (We booked our car with arguscarhire.com for £467 including insurance.) Once our phones and car were all set up we drove to and checked into Lana Villa in Muscat.

Day 2 (Friday 6 April)

Stayed in and explored Muscat. We caught the Friday prayer at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and then drove on to Qurum Natural Park and Qurum Beach.

Day 3 (Saturday 7 April)

Drove to Sur from Muscat and stopped by at Bimmah Sinkhole and Wadi Shab along the way. After that we proceeded to and checked into Sur Grand Hotel.

Day 4 (Sunday 8 April)

Stayed in and explored Sur. We stopped by Bilad Sur Castle, Sunaysilah Fort, the fishing harbour for the sunset and then Al Ayjah Lighthouse where we sat and enjoyed a multitude of Adhans being called for Eisha in every direction.

Day 5 (Monday 9 April)

Drove from Sur to the southern part of Wadi Bani Khalid near the villages of Sabt and Sayq but we didn't find any water so we turned back and proceeded on to Wahiba Sands and checked in to Golden Palm Oasis for an overnight desert experience.

Day 6 (Tuesday 10 April)

Drove to the northern part of Wadi Bani Khalid near Muqal where we got some good swimming in. Proceeded on to Nizwah where we checked in to Al Diyar Hotel.

Day 7 (Wednesday 11 April)

Visited Nizwa Souq and Al Hoota Cave and then proceeded up Jebel Shams and checked in to Sama Heights Resort.

Day 8 (Thursday 12 April)

Drove around the top of Jebel Shams near our accommodation, caught site of some good deep canyons and went for a nicely paved walk from Al Khitaym.

Day 9 (Friday 13 April)

Drove to Musannah and checked in to Millennium Resort Mussanah. The initial plan was to pass through Wadi Al Hawqain and Al Rustaq on the way to Musannah but we got caught in some tough mountain roads so we bailed on Wadi Al Hawqain and simply passed Al Rustaq on the way to Musannah. The resort was a little too much on the luxurious side and we only stayed here because there were no other accommodation options in the area. In hindsight we should have just gone straight from Jebel Shams to Muscat.

Day 10 (Saturday 14 April)

Drove to Muscat. Checked in to Behlys Boutique. We visited Muscat Grand Mall in the evening but it's nothing to write home about. Just another fancy mall.

Day 11 (Sunday 15 April)

Hung around and did some activities in Muscat. We caught the dolphin watching boat ride from Marina Bandar Al Rowdha (we didn't enjoy the dolphin watching experience), some jet skiing in Azaiba Beach and then some gift shopping in Mutrah Souq.

Day 12 (Monday 16 April)

Dropped off our rental car and caught our return flight from Muscat airport.